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Vik's Chaat Corner

In its 18 years in business, Viks has developed an almost cultlike following at its cavernous warehouse space in Berkeley. At night, when the metal doors roll down, you'd never know what was inside. The institutional green walls, bare tables and generous sprinkling of garbage cans around the room pass for decor. Yet everyone from Alice Waters to the road crews working on University stop in for Indra Chopra's specialties. She creates some of the best examples of Indian food you'll find anywhere in the Bay Area, and the prices are rock bottom. Don't pass up the young coconut; the staff pierces the shell and gives you a straw to suck out the milk. It's great to counter the effects of the vibrant, spicy curries.